[OL Troop Raising] Letter from Breshaun

[Captain Genaro]

Régiment des 5e Vele by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

Dearest Madeline, 

Oh, what joy it is to finally be able to write from dry land. Weeks of sea, those damp, cramped quarters (I word I use most loosely, my dear, as the canvas walls offer no more privacy than a thin veil might) have taken a toll on me. To finally be able to walk without the ground rolling with my every step, and to finally sleep on a solid surface without having to be lashed into my cot. Not that our new lodging is much of an improvement, for you see the local garrison simply doesn't have enough room for the influx of troops flooding Breshaun as of late. The wealthier officers have rented rooms in the hotels or private residences, but myself and the other junior officers (or at least those too poor to afford better) have resigned ourselves to a crumbling warehouse previously occupied by one of the Guelph regiments. Still, I suppose it is better than the tents and hard earth the men must endure, but Captain Dupleix assures us we shall not endure it for long as our orders are to proceed to Terraversa as soon as the rest of the reinforcements arrive. 

Fear not, my love, for my safety. Daily it seems there is news of yet another victory from the island. Already we have secured most of the smaller settlements with thousands, maybe tens of thousands of the wicked foe dead or captured. We have nearly captured all of Kings Port, and have driven the coward Oldis to hide behind the skirts of women and children. I assure you it is true, every word of it. Apparently our fleet quickly destroyed the fortifications, and as our soldiers landed Oldis ordered his men to hide with the civilians. Instead of facing us on an honorable field of battle he ordered his forces to cower behind those poor people he has spent his lifetime exploiting. A true, blackguard, as any honorable man would attest. 

I fear this must be the end of this letter for now. Perhaps I will have a moment to pick up the quill again before we depart, but if not know that I think of you with my every waking moment. 

With all my love,  

Henri Debussy 

Lieutenant, Régiment des 5e Vele 2e Batallion Ire Compagnie 

Régiment des 5e Vele by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

Régiment des 5e Vele by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

I decided to go with an epistolary method to tell the story behind this build. I am still on the fence if it worked out, but it was fun for a challenge. As always comments and criticism are welcome. 

[Elostirion]

An impressive army!

It's all around really well done. A very well-built house, good terrain, just the right amount of vegetation. Those tents really add a lot of depth and realism to the MOC, great idea.

And the army is just really cool. The perfect choice of hats, and man that's a lot of those hats, and those bluecoats. Love it.

[Khorne]

Very neat to see a column of that many soldiers marching! The shed looks decayingly beautiful . I like the repairs on the roof and the worn parts of it. That's a large amount of dark orange bricks!

I love the allround vibe of the build, with soldiers preparing themselves.

Are those hats hand painted?

[Bodi]

Nice build, captain! Good work with the custom base, the warehouse is huge, and I like the details you added here and there, such as the horses drinking from the fountain, and as said in the above posts, it's good see so many bluecoats marching.

[Ayrlego]

Great barracks! The combination of dark orange and dark bley works really well here and I really like the way you used the grey slopes and inverted slopes to get the triangular edging on the roof side (I'm sure that has a proper name - no idea what it is!!).  The tents and pond are also nice details.

The troops; however, are the highlight! I do love a nice column of troops marching! The thing that really jumps out are the white rimmed tricornes. I still don't have a single one of those! Are they genuine? The white looks slightly raised in some of them which is why I ask. The green epaulettes are an unusual choice with the blue but I do like the over all look of this fine regiment. As noted in some of your other MOCs, the inverse colours of the drummers is another great detail. Very nice work!

[blackdeathgr]

Just Epic! Marching soldiers, the building, and the tents are just beautiful! White rimmed hats really stands out and so are the drummers as Ayrlego said. Oh, and I really liked the flag and the irregular baseplate.

To victory boys, to victory!

Edited September 27, 2020 by blackdeathgr

[Mesabi]

I like all the effort and detail you put into the build, from the well, to the large building next to figures, and the curve of the baseplate of the build. Troop raising builds don't have to be complex, so the extra effort really helps bring the build to the next level.

Boy, this here TER-OL war is going to be an interesting test of the land combat rules... 

On 9/27/2020 at 3:00 PM, Ayrlego said:

The thing that really jumps out are the white rimmed tricornes. I still don't have a single one of those! Are they genuine?

Yes, but they only in two POTC  sets, so they're a little pricey. They also chip easy, so a bit of while paint and some edge highlighting might be a better option 

[Captain Genaro]

On 9/27/2020 at 2:00 AM, Elostirion said:

An impressive army!

It's all around really well done. A very well-built house, good terrain, just the right amount of vegetation. Those tents really add a lot of depth and realism to the MOC, great idea.

And the army is just really cool. The perfect choice of hats, and man that's a lot of those hats, and those bluecoats. Love it.

I'm glad you like it, and thank you for the kind words. 

On 9/27/2020 at 2:58 AM, Khorne said:

Very neat to see a column of that many soldiers marching! The shed looks decayingly beautiful . I like the repairs on the roof and the worn parts of it. That's a large amount of dark orange bricks!

I love the allround vibe of the build, with soldiers preparing themselves.

Are those hats hand painted?

Thank you very much. The decay was harder to get right than I initially expected, and I am glad it worked out in the end. 

Yes, the hats are hand painted. 

On 9/27/2020 at 8:35 AM, Bodi said:

Nice build, captain! Good work with the custom base, the warehouse is huge, and I like the details you added here and there, such as the horses drinking from the fountain, and as said in the above posts, it's good see so many bluecoats marching.

Thank you, Bodi. Deciding what background activity and details to add is fun for me, and I am glad it is appreciated. 

On 9/27/2020 at 2:00 PM, Ayrlego said:

Great barracks! The combination of dark orange and dark bley works really well here and I really like the way you used the grey slopes and inverted slopes to get the triangular edging on the roof side (I'm sure that has a proper name - no idea what it is!!).  The tents and pond are also nice details.

The troops; however, are the highlight! I do love a nice column of troops marching! The thing that really jumps out are the white rimmed tricornes. I still don't have a single one of those! Are they genuine? The white looks slightly raised in some of them which is why I ask. The green epaulettes are an unusual choice with the blue but I do like the over all look of this fine regiment. As noted in some of your other MOCs, the inverse colours of the drummers is another great detail. Very nice work!

I'm glad you appreciate a good column of troops as much as I do. I have a lot of fun putting them together and making sure each solider is unique. I use epaulettes as a substitute for jacket facings to denote which regiment the troops belong to. Not the most historically accurate approach, but the best I can do with the medium at hand. 

The hats are hand painted. Doesn't take too long, and the results are just fantastic. 

On 9/27/2020 at 2:35 PM, blackdeathgr said:

Just Epic! Marching soldiers, the building, and the tents are just beautiful! White rimmed hats really stands out and so are the drummers as Ayrlego said. Oh, and I really liked the flag and the irregular baseplate.

To victory boys, to victory!

That is some high praise, BD. I'm glad you like it so much. 

3 hours ago, Mesabi said:

I like all the effort and detail you put into the build, from the well, to the large building next to figures, and the curve of the baseplate of the build. Troop raising builds don't have to be complex, so the extra effort really helps bring the build to the next level.

Boy, this here TER-OL war is going to be an interesting test of the land combat rules... 

Yes, but they only in two POTC  sets, so they're a little pricey. They also chip easy, so a bit of while paint and some edge highlighting might be a better option 

Very kind words, thank you Mesabi. I am glad the extra effort is appreciated. 

You are right there are official Lego printed tricorns, but mine are hand painted. It's a much cheaper option, and personally I believe the hand painted ones are of a better quality (the printing on those is not always very good). 

[Corweena]

Bravo, an excellent scene. Even though it is a troppraising build, the building and baseplate stole the show for me.